Foxhole (band)
Encyclopedia
This article is about the band Foxhole. For the method of combat, see Defensive fighting position
Foxhole is a post-rock
band from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Greg Leppert - Brass, Keyboards
Adam Moore - Guitar
R. Justin Shepherd - Guitar
Brian Toppenberg - Samples, Keyboards
Chris Vicari - Drums
Former Members & Participants
Nathan McBroom (Founding Member) - Guitar, Bass
Matthew Wilson (Founding Member) - Drums
Alex O'Nan - Drums
Adam Tanaka - Drums
Joey Wilcox - Percussion
Jason Torrence - Drums
campus, Foxhole was heavily influenced by other Kentucky bands such as Slint
and June of '44
. The first performance featured Nathan on guitar and bass, Adam on guitar, Matthew and Joey on drums and percussion, Justin playing glockenspiel, and two of the bandmates' girlfriends providing sparse vocals. The second performance featured the aforementioned players together with Derek on bass, Greg improvising on trumpet and sans girlfriends. By their third performance, the lineup had solidified to Nathan, Adam, Justin, Derek, Matt, and Greg.
The band initially focused on melding experimental sounds with melody. A staple of early performances was a fully improvised song (designated "X") randomly inserted into the set list, and which often featured several homemade instruments, including the "juggophone", "shatterophone", "topophone", and "pyrophone", which utilized the sounds of beating water jugs, breaking bottles, clinking pot tops, and micing fireworks, respectively. They also made frequent use of the sounds of a signal generator. Gradually, Foxhole integrated slightly more traditional song structures and held to typical instruments, dispensing mostly with the use of gimmick instrumentation. Songs typically featured a gradual build in intensity, and featured rare and unaugmented vocals.
2002 brought EP1, the debut Foxhole release. 500 CDs were pressed and packaged in hand-stitched canvas and embossed cardstock. That summer, the band embarked on a two-week tour across the Eastern half of the United States
. In spring 2003, Foxhole released a second EP, EP2:X, a compilation of "X" improvisations recorded mostly during the previous summer's tour. It too was hand packaged and screenprinted.
As Foxhole continued to change musically, the lineup also changed. Founding member Nathan McBroom left the band in December 2003 on good terms in preparation for mission work in Asia. 2004 brought on a partnership with Selah Records, from Lansing, MI. Selah funded the release of the Foxhole's first full length. Recorded by Greg at the church which doubled as the band's rehearsal space, We The Wintering Tree was a monumental undertaking for the band. Tim Bushong of T-Bush Record Plant mixed the album, and it was mastered at John Golden Mastering. 1000 copies of We the Wintering Tree were released in late 2004 and packaged in letterpress-printed white cardstock. Shortly after the album's release, Matt Wilson left the band, also on good terms. Alex O'Nan, drummer for Louisville "math-rock" band, Of Asaph, filled in for several shows, as did Adam Tanaka, formerly of the hardcore band With Blood Comes Beauty. In January 2005, the band found a permanent replacement in Jason Torrence, drummer for Nashville Americana act God's Lonely Man.
As writing for another EP began, Foxhole also increased the frequency of its live performances. In May 2006, they released Push/Pull, after roughly 18 months of recording and pre-production. Recorded by Torrence and Leppert and mixed and mastered by Torrence, the album was thematically inspired by videographer and band friend Aaron Marrs' death at sea. The complexity and additional production on Push/Pull prompted the band to add a sixth member, Brian Toppenberg, to augment live shows. Later that year, they joined the roster of Burnt Toast Vinyl, a label based in Philadelphia, PA. The band members currently reside in Bowling Green, Nashville, and Vienna (Austria), and are working on a full-length due for release in late 2007. BTV also plans to release a third pressing of We the Wintering Tree in both CD and vinyl format.
In early 2010, Foxhole announced plans to return from their 4-year long hiatus and record a new album.
Defensive fighting position
A defensive fighting position is a type of earthwork constructed in a military context, generally large enough to accommodate at least one person.- Terminology :...
Foxhole is a post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
band from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Members
Derek Holt - BassGreg Leppert - Brass, Keyboards
Adam Moore - Guitar
R. Justin Shepherd - Guitar
Brian Toppenberg - Samples, Keyboards
Chris Vicari - Drums
Former Members & Participants
Nathan McBroom (Founding Member) - Guitar, Bass
Matthew Wilson (Founding Member) - Drums
Alex O'Nan - Drums
Adam Tanaka - Drums
Joey Wilcox - Percussion
Jason Torrence - Drums
History
Foxhole first began regular rehearsals in November 2000. The brainchild of founding members Adam Moore and Nathan Mcbroom, and finding practice space in various places on Western Kentucky University'sWestern Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
campus, Foxhole was heavily influenced by other Kentucky bands such as Slint
Slint
Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...
and June of '44
June of 44
June of 44 was an American rock band which was formed in 1994 from ex-members of Rodan, Lungfish, Rex, and Hoover. The band's music is often described as 'math rock'. The band's name refers the period during which erotic fiction writers Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin corresponded.The band toured...
. The first performance featured Nathan on guitar and bass, Adam on guitar, Matthew and Joey on drums and percussion, Justin playing glockenspiel, and two of the bandmates' girlfriends providing sparse vocals. The second performance featured the aforementioned players together with Derek on bass, Greg improvising on trumpet and sans girlfriends. By their third performance, the lineup had solidified to Nathan, Adam, Justin, Derek, Matt, and Greg.
The band initially focused on melding experimental sounds with melody. A staple of early performances was a fully improvised song (designated "X") randomly inserted into the set list, and which often featured several homemade instruments, including the "juggophone", "shatterophone", "topophone", and "pyrophone", which utilized the sounds of beating water jugs, breaking bottles, clinking pot tops, and micing fireworks, respectively. They also made frequent use of the sounds of a signal generator. Gradually, Foxhole integrated slightly more traditional song structures and held to typical instruments, dispensing mostly with the use of gimmick instrumentation. Songs typically featured a gradual build in intensity, and featured rare and unaugmented vocals.
2002 brought EP1, the debut Foxhole release. 500 CDs were pressed and packaged in hand-stitched canvas and embossed cardstock. That summer, the band embarked on a two-week tour across the Eastern half of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In spring 2003, Foxhole released a second EP, EP2:X, a compilation of "X" improvisations recorded mostly during the previous summer's tour. It too was hand packaged and screenprinted.
As Foxhole continued to change musically, the lineup also changed. Founding member Nathan McBroom left the band in December 2003 on good terms in preparation for mission work in Asia. 2004 brought on a partnership with Selah Records, from Lansing, MI. Selah funded the release of the Foxhole's first full length. Recorded by Greg at the church which doubled as the band's rehearsal space, We The Wintering Tree was a monumental undertaking for the band. Tim Bushong of T-Bush Record Plant mixed the album, and it was mastered at John Golden Mastering. 1000 copies of We the Wintering Tree were released in late 2004 and packaged in letterpress-printed white cardstock. Shortly after the album's release, Matt Wilson left the band, also on good terms. Alex O'Nan, drummer for Louisville "math-rock" band, Of Asaph, filled in for several shows, as did Adam Tanaka, formerly of the hardcore band With Blood Comes Beauty. In January 2005, the band found a permanent replacement in Jason Torrence, drummer for Nashville Americana act God's Lonely Man.
As writing for another EP began, Foxhole also increased the frequency of its live performances. In May 2006, they released Push/Pull, after roughly 18 months of recording and pre-production. Recorded by Torrence and Leppert and mixed and mastered by Torrence, the album was thematically inspired by videographer and band friend Aaron Marrs' death at sea. The complexity and additional production on Push/Pull prompted the band to add a sixth member, Brian Toppenberg, to augment live shows. Later that year, they joined the roster of Burnt Toast Vinyl, a label based in Philadelphia, PA. The band members currently reside in Bowling Green, Nashville, and Vienna (Austria), and are working on a full-length due for release in late 2007. BTV also plans to release a third pressing of We the Wintering Tree in both CD and vinyl format.
In early 2010, Foxhole announced plans to return from their 4-year long hiatus and record a new album.
Releases
- EP1 (2002)
- EP2:X (2003)
- We the Wintering Tree (Burnt Toast VinylBurnt Toast VinylBurnt Toast Vinyl is an independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:Burnt Toast Vinyl was founded by a Drexel University student who had initially been involved with concert promotion at the school...
, 2004) - Push/Pull EP (Burnt Toast, 2006)
Trivia
- The Foxhole song "The End of Dying" can be heard on a 2006 promotional BMX DVD distributed by the major skate shoe company etniesEtniesthumb|Picture of an etnies shoeEtnies is an American footwear brand based in Lake Forest, California, and owned by Sole Technology, Inc. In 2003, etnies, along with the city of Lake Forest, California opened etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest, the largest public skatepark in the state, with over of...
. - "The End of Dying" was also featured (though shortened) on Mono Vs. Stereo Records' national release "The Revolution Will Begin In The Blink Of An Eye", along with House of HeroesHouse of HeroesHouse of Heroes is an alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They were also known by the name No Tagbacks. They are generally considered to be Christian rock, though their lyrics are not always transparently Christian...
, AnathalloAnathalloAnathallo was a band originally from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and then based in Chicago, Illinois. The band started practicing in the fall of 2000 and played their first show soon afterward. Their name is derived from a Greek word meaning "to renew, refresh or bloom again."In 2006 Anathallo released...
, Aireline, and Matthew Thiessen of Relient KRelient KRelient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...
. - Foxhole's first van was named after Gomer, the adulterous wifeGomerGomer was the son of Japheth in the Hebrew Bible.Gomer may also refer to:*Gomer *GOMER , in medical slang, an undesirable patient*Gomer Press, a printing and publishing company in Wales...
of the Biblical prophet HoseaHoseaHosea was the son of Beeri and a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BC. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise...
, and was named and given to Foxhole by AnathalloAnathalloAnathallo was a band originally from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and then based in Chicago, Illinois. The band started practicing in the fall of 2000 and played their first show soon afterward. Their name is derived from a Greek word meaning "to renew, refresh or bloom again."In 2006 Anathallo released...
free of charge. - Foxhole's second van was named "Clementine" after the Elliott SmithElliott SmithSteven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
song of the same name. - Paul HinojosPaul HinojosPablo J. Hinojos-Gonzalez is a Grammy award winning musician, and former member of The Mars Volta, Sparta and At The Drive In. Sometimes credited under the name Paul Hinojos, he was the bass guitarist of At the Drive-In...
of the band SpartaSpartaSparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
chose Foxhole's We the Wintering Tree as one of his ten favorite albums of 2004. - Videographer Mat Thorne makes consistent use of Foxhole songs in his work.
- Foxhole's album We the Wintering Tree was recommended by several independent record review sites, including Decoy Music and The Silent Ballet, as one of the 10 best instrumental records of 2004.
External links
- Official Foxhole website
- Official Foxhole Myspace page
- Reviews
- Videos